Here We Go Again
by Raging Cryopheonix
Summary: Everything was going fine. Neku had made it two years without anyone trying to kill him. But that sadist Life just wouldn't leave him alone. So out of nowhere, Shibuya started collapsing. Rated for language and suggestion. On Hiatus till I get more expierience.
1. Chapter 1

Here we go again

Prologue

The two men sat together at a table in a otherwise deserted coffee shop. Not that anyone would notice them if they looked past the clearly labled "Closed" front glass window. The older-looking man, who most would place as being in his late twenties, took a sip of the steaming bevarage in his hands and spoke: "First reaper's game in almost a year, huh?"

The younger man, who was still a lot older that most would place him as, replied with a simple:"Shut up, Hanekoma."

"Hey, don't take it out on me, okay? Demotion isn't the end. Besides, field work is fun!"

Taking a sip of his drink and sighing, the younger man responded: "Look, I'm sorry. I'm just feeling drained. After being a composer for so long, harrier rank is so low to fall."

"You, apologizing? Who are you and what have you done with Yoshiya?"

"I'm serious. What if the game falls apart?"

Hanekoma put a reasuring hand on the boy's shoulder. "You know as well as I do that all angels were once composers. They'll be fine. Jeez, Josh, you're acting like a mother hen."

The boy shook the hand off. "But I personally set up this game so I would hold it together. It's the reason I wasn't promoted to angel after ninety-four years of running the game, and it's also the reason I had it off so lightly when it came to handing out my punishment."

Hanekoma sighed and drained the last of his coffee. "I know. For goodness sake, Josh, lighten up. You'll give yourself an ulcer. What's really bugging you?"

Joshua went silent for several seconds before saying tiredly "…I don't know."

"We both can tell that's a lie. You don't have to tell me**."**

Josh sighed again and took another sip of his drink. Sanae would never admit it to anyone but himself, but seeing Joshua depressed like this worried him. The young man was surprisingly sensative once he actually opened up to someone, which was rare. Josh stood up, emptied the remains of his smoothie into the trash can, and spoke: "…Fine. If you must know, it's Neku."

To be completely honest, he wasn't unduly surprised. "Huh. I had a hunch that was it. How long has it been?"

"A long time. I wasn't counting."

Sanae waited a few moments before adding : "...You could still go back, you know."

"All of those people have special ones and friends… they don't need someone like me, who only brings trouble, to complicate matters…"

This was bad. This was very bad. How could he not have noticed Josh slipping this far into depression? In despairation, he played the last card in his arsenal of 'make Joshua stop dwelling on his masochistic issues' deck: "…What about Rhyme?"

"…I'd rather not talk about it. She's messed up enough without me. All her dreams are gone. Besides, I can't get involved. Associating with players was one of my charges. I get so much as spotted in the same building as her and I'm finished. You're on shaky ground too, given you're a fallen angel. Come to think of it... how did you not get exiled?"

"I have powerful friends…"

Joshua chuckled darkly. "My ass. You used Neku as blackmail."

"Is it my fault his power level is on par with most composers?"

Josh, who Hanekoma could see was getting into complete douche mode, respoded: "Actually, it is. You added to it with CAT. And in addition, you…"

OK, douche mode was not fun. But it was better than depressed. Best to stop this now and try to find something better to talk about than the past. "I don't like where this is going, Joshua."

"Heehee, looks like even you have nerves you don't want hit."

It was as Josh started that infernal giggling that he realized this was going to be a tough one to get out of. "Stop giggling. That's probably one of the reasons Neku thought you were gay."

"Sorry, it's an old habit."

"Pissing people off or giggling?"

"Both."

Ok, now that Josh thought he had the upper hand, he just needed to change the subject. "Cut the sarcasm. On a different note, you hear the eternal player is joining?"

"Really…"

"Yeah. It's not supposed to be public knowledge yet. Last guy couldn't handle him and lost his cool after E.P. refused to become a Reaper. Again. Then he beat the crap out of the conductor."

"What happened?"

Josh's sadistic laugh told him all he needed to know. "E.P. finished the conductor with a single blow and brought the composer to his knees. He was dictated unfit to administrate by upstairs, and they exiled him and brought in a new composer. E.P. was sent over here."

"Huh. Shibuya always get the interesting ones."

"Though, I honestly didn't believe anyone could play for ten years straight. It's almost impossible!" The former composer's voice showed actual surprise and respect, something very few could make him do.

"Why hasn't he come back to life, or at least become a reaper? I thought they still make you a reaper automatically after ten games?"

"Well, apparently, not only does he not want to return to life, but he doesn't want to be a reaper either. Anyone who objected got their ass kicked after his fifteenth week, though he was briefly one."

Josh fake shuddered. "Scary. Still, what composer looses to a player with a single blow. Heeheehee, what complete weaklings."

Hanekoma sighed. "Josh, what did I tell you about the giggling? Seriously, stop."

"Or what? Do tell me, what dreadful punishment awaits me if I don't right this moment?"

Now it was his turn to smile sadistically. "Or I'm going to tell Beat you kissed his sister. I happen to have it on tape."

Josh looked shocked for a minute, then almost shouted at him: "Oh, you did not just pull the Rhyme card! We both swore not to ever talk about that again! I didn't even do that intentionally! She fell off the counter! I just caught her at the wrong angle! Not romantic at all!"

Sanae smiled, knowing victory was inevetable. "But you wish there was…"

Josh sighed in defeat and rubbed his face in his hands. "Screw you, backstabbing son of a bitch. Now lets go get something to eat. I'm already getting a headache."

Sanae smiled, knowing Josh would try to get him back later, but he let it rest. "Whatever."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - About the same time as he was being discussed, Neku found himself in dire straits. Shiki had somehow talked him into shopping for a new outfit. Of course, he had made the mistake of assuming that Shiki had meant an outfit for herself. In all honesty, he would rather fight a Progfox without pins.

"No, Shiki, unlike Josh, I am unwilling to wear a dress. I am not confused about my gender. I am a male and proud of it!"

"It's not a dress! It's a kilt! It's traditional in Scotland! Not a dress!"

"This is not Scotland! This is Shibuya. I know your geography score isn't that bad!"

Shiki laughed and smacked him. Neku's train of thought was interrupted by the sight of a red-hooded man standing outside. Support reapers were far from rare, as Neku knew from the infamous noodle city incident, but he wasn't dead… or was he? He turned to Shiki.

"I want you to look out that window right there, and please don't freak out."

Shiki turned and then swore under her breath. After a brief pause due to Neku's surprise that his normally shy friend could talk like that, he asked:

"So, you can see him too."

"Yeah. Have you noticed? People are walking right through him! Why the hell are we seeing the UG?"

"I don't know. If we had died, people would be freaking out… so… we're seeing dead people?"

She turned to him, eyes wide with concern and fear. Swallowing it down, she responded with:

"Neku, I want you to call Joshua. Now. I saw him give you his number after he removed the noodles from his hair."

"Shiki, I haven't seen him in almost two years. I don't know if he'll even pick up!"

"Call him! **Now!" **

Shiki's voice rose high enough to prompt a few people standing nearby to give them strange looks. Neku realized Shiki was panicking and wouldn't listen to anything he said. Partly to avoid a scene with the mall's security, he took out his phone and began dialing. As much to his surprise as Shiki's, Josh picked up on the second ring.

"Yoshiya Kiru speaking." Joshua sounded curt and businesslike, unlike the Josh he knew.

"Josh. It's me, Neku. How are you doing?" Neku waited for him to recover from the shock for a minute before he came on again.

"Not bad… dear." Neku swore like a sailor inside as the other boy's tone switched into the irritating voice Josh normally used. He tried not to throw up as he held back a scathing remark.

"Josh, I'll get right to the point. Shiki and I are seeing the U.G. What the hell did you do?"

Joshua laughed (wait, since when did Josh not giggle? His voice was lower too…) before responding.

"I flattered you think that I could do something like that, but I wouldn't have that kind of power or authority as a simple harrier. The new composer probably has something planned for you."

"Wait, you're a harrier? When did that happen? More important, why?"

"Why? I believe you should be able to tell me that. How's this for an answer… YOU happened! The angel plane though I was unfit to rule after the Shibuya game, after you crashed the place and screwed Megumi over."

"There are people above you?"

"Obviously. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go kill things. And we shouldn't be having this conversation. According to the rules of Reaperdom, I can't get involved with formal players. Ciao!"

Neku swore again as the monotonous beeping of the dial tone filled his ear. He lowered the phone and looked over at Shiki, who was looking at him expectantly.

"So?"

"Apparently, the new composer wants us to see something. It's a long story and Josh can't intervene anyway. Well, this totally ruined our date."

Shiki looked at him with one eyebrow raised.

"I don't recall this being a date."

"Excursion. Slip of the tongue. Sorry. We need to see if Beat and Rhyme are seeing this too. I'll explain on the way." And with that statement, Neku left the store, Shiki trailing him.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Janet was having a very bad day. She woke up, ate breakfast, and walked up to her balcony. All normal, everyday things. Then the banister broke, and she fell 200 feet down, through two glass overhangs, to gently kiss the pavement where some strange guy had just completed a chalk drawing that looked like a skull… then gravity, being the cold heartless bitch that she is, took effect and splattered her intestines all over the street. When she hit the ground, some massive impact shoved her away from her body. As she stood up, rubbing her back where it had hit a wall to stop her flight, she reflected upon the revelation that had come to her as a result of death:

"Damn, I look ugly as a splattered mess."

She began to walk away, as watching people cry and clean up her mess was not how she wanted to spend her day. Then, out of nowhere, with no regards for logic or sense, she was transported to a large white room. And that was how she came to be standing here, listening to the rules of a game apparently run by reapers. Seriously, reapers? The man had no life.

"That concludes my explanation. Any questions I can answer without having to think very hard?"

"One. How come I have to put up with this shiiiiiizznit? Aren't I just supposed to go to heaven or hell of something?" she said, biting off a curse at the last second. Best not to offend crazies.

"That's how it is. Suck it up. Oh, I almost forgot to collect your entry fee…" he retorted, stretching his gloved hand toward her. Janet freaked.

"No touching, creeper! I have an A+ in bitch-slapping, ok?" he laughed. Not a good sign…

"No, no. Nothing like that. I've already collected it."

"Huh? I don't feel any different…"

"You'll figure it out soon enough. Meanwhile, you have fun out there!"

And then Janet blacked out.

**CHAPTER 0 FINISH**

**Author's notes:**

This took WAY too long to upload. Like, two months because of freaking school. Before I go any farther, allow me to explain some things. Firstly, because of the two-year time gap, there will be OCs, like Janet, most of whom will be minor characters. If Janet seemed unrealistic, that's because she's in shock. Also, she is not the main character, but the character with a perspective in the game's standpoint, the eternal player (NOT an OC, by the way!), hasn't made his appearance. TO avoid confusion, he is not the main character. Neku is. If want any questions answered, PM me and I will try to answer you. I'll try to update a chapter every 2-3 weeks, but I have school, so I don't know if that's gonna happen. Please rate and review! I would love to hear what you think! Flames will be fed to my shredder, Mr. Spinny Vortex of Deadly Blades. **Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here We Go Again**

**Chapter 1**

**K, Day 1**

Some days, Joshua really hated his job. Being a reaper was generally a good job to have, or so he'd thought as composer. You got to feel the pulse of the city's heartbeat through the haze of adrenaline as you chased players through Shibuya in a life-or-death struggle to make it to the end of the week alive. What he didn't realize as composer were the true irritations that came with the wings: other reapers. It seemed like they all had some kind of obsession or psychological complex, and some of them were bad enough to make him miss Minamimoto. Take, for example, the two standing in front of him, which happened to be the reason he was having this little monologue.

"So, which are you, female or just confused?" the one on the left said. She was short, had green (that was another thing; they always had absurd dyed hair colors.) At least his hair was natural) hair, and was so consistently annoying that he had nicknamed her, as he did not know her actual name, Bitchy. And considering this came from Joshua, who normally didn't swear, that was pretty bad. Her companion, a painfully bright- blonde haired, tall, skinny woman giggled and said:

"I'll bet she has Yodai **CENSORED FOR YOUR SAFETY** daily!"

That was his biggest annoyance with her: she was incredibly perverse and was all prepared to tell the world about it. In addition, she was whiny, needy, and stupid. Josh would know, since he'd had to spend a week paired with her. Considering she had somehow managed to make Game Master this week, he was feeling sympathetic for the players. Josh decided simply to sigh and retort: "Pleasant to know you still have time for your disturbing fangirlish sexual fantasies. I trust you have today's mission ready for delivery?" He had quickly discovered that a curt, businesslike attitude was the best way to end any conversation with her. Whiny, as he had decided to call her this week huffed and glared at him. He changed nicknames of his coworkers weekly in order to avoid forming attachments. Though some people (coughuzukiandkariyacough) were too hard to avoid forming attachments to.

Whiny had stopped talking for a blissful moment to look injured that he was not taking the bait, but it was impossible for her to stay quiet for long, as was proven a few seconds later when she responded: "Of course I do. What kind of idiotic slob do you take me for? C'mon Mina, let's go." Josh sighed in relief as they walked off. Those two, despite being complete idiots, somehow knew how to push all his buttons. His thoughts were interrupted (again) by the huge footfalls behind him. He didn't even have to turn around to know his partner had arrived.

"Are you sufficiently prepared for the potpourri of this game, sir?" Yodai HIgashizawa, his partner asked. Yodai was one of the reapers revived in his freak spell of generosity after the Shibuya game. In all honestly, though, Joshua liked Yodai. If you could get past his food fetish, you would find a decent, respectful, and professional worker, as well as a surprisingly good cook. Looking at it from a logistical standpoint, he was definitely the best partner choice overall.

"Yes, HIgashizawa, I am ready. And please remember we are on equal terms, so you don't have to treat me as your superior. Understood?"

"Yes." the man simply responded, and they walked toward 104 to lay in wait for players.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Neku and Shiki were having a hard time convincing Beat and Rhyme of the fact they were indeed seeing the UG, and not just talking through their asses. Beat was skeptical (which made him adopt a rather funny screwed-up face), and while Rhyme had shown a flicker of both recognition and fear when they had started talking about it, she stood firmly by her brother, probably because of some unspoken pact between her and her brother as a result of their UG experience.

"I dunno, Phones. It seems to me that you jus' screwing with us. You sure you weren't hallocinitating or sumthin'? The rain was coming down pretty hard last night. Mebbe you saw a massage." Beat said, referring to the severe freak storm that had hit Shibuya the Previous evening. Around six, the sky had turned blood red, and a few minutes later, rain had fallen. The rain was extremely hard and it fell for three hours, resulting in the damage of several concrete structures. The storm had forced Shiki and him to take refuge at his house. Cell phones had also been rendered useless by the lightening, meaning that the delivery of the strange news had been postponed to today. Neku hadn't heard anything on the news about the storm, and had never seen anything like it. He wondered what had happened. He swallowed his questions and said:

"No, Beat, Shiki and I weren't tripping, and it hadn't started raining yet."

Shiki chimed in: "Besides, do you really think we'd joke about that hell we went through together? Don't you trust us?"

Beat laughed nervously. "Course I trust you, Shiki. It's just a bit had to swallow. I mean, J-man getting demoted? Isn't that pretty unlikely? The guy can paralyze you just by looking. You telling me there are stronger guys out there than Prissy?"

Rhyme turned to Beat, and Neku briefly wondered how she could stand living in the same house as him. "Yes, Beat, I believe that's exactly what Neku and Shiki are trying to tell us. And as much as I'd like to believe that some reaper is toying with you, we can't eliminate the possibility that Joshua is the one doing it. Or he may not know, so he made something up. Also, your story is a little bit unbelievable. Why only you? You could have simply blinked and it looked like someone went through him. We'll let you know if we see anything similar, and keep your eyes out for the theoretical reaper who's probably having a good laugh right now. We love and support you, but your story seems too unbelievable to act on. Now let's stop talking and go get something to eat. Everything looks better on a full stomach with friends around you." She finished, smiling broadly. Neku would admit that Rhyme's words had a calming effect on him, and his story did seem silly in broad daylight, but he couldn't shake the feelings of dread and fear hanging over him, and deep down, he knew he hadn't been hallucinating and that someone had their eyes on him. He could only hope they had friendly intentions.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

He stood in the shadows, trying not to be seen. Not that anyone could see him, but there was no harm in being cautious. The man in the corner had once had a name, but he had cast it away long ago, preferring to go by simple initials. He ran a hand through his freshly dyed hair, realizing he remembered only a dim memory of what his original hair color had been. He had changed his appearance so many times to mask the person he had been and the pain they represented that he had almost forgotten what he had once looked like. And there he went again, dwelling on the past. He had though he was over these masochistic reflections. In all honesty, however, he really didn't have anything else to do. To save time and to give the reapers a day off, day seven of one game often happened on the same RG day as day one of another game, which was why day one's mission was often so short. However, despite how convenient this was for players and reapers alike, it was a pain in the ass for him, who had already learned the way to resist the telepathic command to sleep issued to players after the completion of their mission, meaning he only went to sleep when he physically wanted to. This resulted in several hours of either waiting around trying to fall asleep or sneaking around trying to collect information or resources useful to his survival. Today, though, he had already collected resources and was too pumped up to sleep, hence the thinking session. He wondered who he would pick for a partner. The reaper's laughter about this week's "batch of total newbies" as they placed the player's bodies through Shibuya was not comforting. Finally too bored to resist, he pulled a few sleeping pills out of his pocket and swallowed them, washing it down with a drink from a bottle of water. He felt blissful sleep wash over him as he fell into the cold embrace of the concrete.

Janet woke plastered on asphalt. People walked all around her, yet somehow no one was stepping on her, or caring she was on the sidewalk. She groaned and pushed herself to her feet. She had a worse headache than the time she had gotten drunk at her friend's friend's party. Her thoughts were interrupted by a sound behind her, something that sounded like a cross between a ribbet and static, with a little bit of feedback thrown in for good measure. She turned to see a frog the size of a FRIGGING GOLDEN RETRIVER staring back at her, its shifting tattoo legs poised to jump. She began backing away slowly away from it, muttering "Good Froggy, nice Froggy, don't come any closer…" She wasn't sure what it was, but she really disliked these frogs, a fear that was immediately justified as it attempted to jump on her face with less than friendly intentions. She ducked and then ran as fast as she could in the other direction. This was not going to end well. She suddenly realized her subconscious was taking this all rather well. That was when she realized that she had been in shock, and that she was probably about to die. Then a surge of pain ran through her face and neck as the frog, which had succeeded in accessing her face and then kicked her in the face impossibly hard, the force sending it flying the other direction. She winced and her hand flew to her shoulder, which had been cut by the frog's legs. Looking over said shoulder, she watched in horror as more frogs joined the first. She swore in a way that would make Eminem blush and ran faster… straight into a brick wall. She hit the concrete hard, winded, and closed her eyes.

"I guess this is the end." She thought. "Of all things, why did it have to be frogs?" A voice from above snapped her out of her stupor.

"Hey, bitch, are you gonna just stand there and let them erase you?" it asked. The words were followed by a flash of blue as another person jumped down from the awning above her.

He hadn't meant to jump down. He had intended to simply watch the proceedings until he found someone stronger to partner with. But as he stood up to get a better view of a player who was probably about to be noise food, the angle of the awning he was on caused him to slip and fall off, just barely saving his dignity by jumping at the last moment. Inwardly, he berated himself for being so careless. Outwardly, he turned around and hauled the pathetic excuse for a player to her feet.

"Get off the floor, pansy, you aren't hurt that bad." The player simply groaned. Blood was running down the side of her face, turning to static as it dripped off. "Never seen that before," He mentally noted. "Maybe she's hurt worse than I thought." It wasn't important right now. He spoke again:  
"Unless you feel like dying today, I suggest you make a pact with me!" he wasn't sure why he offered. Pity, probably. The woman opened her eyes and gave him a questioning look.

"Pact? Care to explain what that means?"

It was then he realized he must have done something terrible, because Karma suddenly really had it out for him.

"Great," He though, "just great. Now I'm gonna be stuck with the useless player for the rest of the week. Crap." This was the wrong time for monologues, however, so he snapped out of it and yelled:

"I don't have time to explain! Just accept and we can kill those frogs!" he could see the panic in the player's eyes as she weighed her options, finally nodding and replying:  
"I agree. Now get me out of here!"

Before she had even finished speaking, blue pact light enveloped both of them, suspending her a few inches above the ground as he let go of her shirt and sending the noise flying. The both hit the ground as the light faded, he on his feet, she on her face, still unsteady after having it used as a springboard. Spitting gravel and blood, she turned her head and asked: "What the hell just happened?"

He shook his head. This one's stupidity had completely exceeded his expectations. "A pact, idiot. What did you expect, two pigs and some roses? Let me guess, you were too busy reveling in the fact you were dead to pay attention to the conductor?"

"Who's the conductor?"

His patience was almost out. Thankfully for her, the noise chose that exact moment to return. The girl saw the frogs a moment after he did and turned to run. He quickly blocked her path. "Waaaaiiit a minute, where do you think you're going?" She looked at him as if he'd gone insane.

"Are you mental?" she said, vocalizing what was written on her face. "I'm getting out of here before those things tear me apart!"

He rolled his eyes. This player was even greener than he thought, as she no only failed to listen to the instructors; she failed to listen to him as well. "The pact allows us to fight the noise, idiot. Stop being such a sissy."

She looked at him skeptically. "And just how do I accomplish that, o great and wise one?" internally, he swore. Apparently, she had just come out of shock, and her fear had screwed her reasoning skill over. Looks like he had to take charge. He sighed and pulled a pyrokenisis pin from his pocket.

"You fight them," he said, while waiting for the pin to warm up, "like…THIS!" Six-foot flames engulfed the nearest frog, torching it into static. The girl looked stunned.

"How…what…when…how did you do that?!" she gibbered out. He tossed her the pin.

"Here. Use this." He said, before the battle swept him into the alternate dimension where noise resided. He heard her annoying voice in his head.

"Hey, where'd you go?"

"If you're willing to pay attention to me, I'll explain. We fight noise-those frogs-in different dimensions. We can communicate telepathically or see briefly through each other's eyes if we concentrate. We also share the same stamina, so don't get…" he felt a surge of pain in his face and knew his idiot partner had gotten hit, "…injured. Are you even listening to me?"

"Alright, whatever, but that still doesn't tell me how to fight the noise or whatever!"

He sighed. "For convenience of insulting you, what's your name?"

She paused for a minute, almost getting hit again. "Janet." She finally responded.

"Alright, Janet, listen close, cause I ain't saying it twice. And don't get hit while I'm saying it!" he added, as he felt another impact, this one in his stomach, nearly knocking the wind out of him. He refocused his mind on her. "Hold the pin in your right hand and point to a noise with your left. Then, focus all the anger you can on it." He watched through her eyes as a frog burst into flame. Tiny, pitiful, flames, and the frog looked more irritated than hurt, but flames nonetheless.

"I did it! Fire came from the pin!"

He smirked sadistically. "Did I mention that pin is a training pin barely worth five yen?"

She snorted. "Thanks for killing my high."

"Shut up and erase things." He replied, turning back to his own noise. He sighed as a frog jumped at his face and simply batted it away. "This isn't even going to be fun." He thought as he felt the familiar, glove like sensation that always accompanied his noise claws. He erased all the noise left except for the one Janet had burned earlier, leaving it for her to deal with, which she apparently did, as it burst into static a few seconds later. He closed his eyes and reveled in the strange feeling that always accompanied a dimensional shift. He opened them again as he felt the concrete under his feet. Scooping up the few pins the noise had left behind, he turned to his partner, who appeared to be suffering from nausea. He extended a hand to help her up, which she gratefully accepted.

"I've told you my name, but I still don't know yours. What is it?" she asked, still a bit green.

"Call me K. Now let's move. Our timers are almost out." He said, beginning to run towards 104. Janet looked puzzled and dashed after him, asking:

"Time? What time?" K, as he had named himself a few moments earlier, swallowed his irritation, sped up, and shouted over his shoulder:

"The reapers-the admins-hand out one mission a day. If you fail, you die. Now move faster!" he glanced over his shoulder again and saw Janet was panting for breath and had slowed down a lot. "Americans," he thought, "no idea of what exercise really is." However, he slowed down to let her catch up. No use in working her to death on the first day.

They arrived at 104 two minutes before the deadline. He watched his partner pant for a bit and then throw up before asking: "Why are you so out of shape?"

The girl froze and then answered: "What are you talking about? I'm not out of shape. You're just…" she trailed off as she saw her face in the reflective glass storefront. She looked stunned. A second later she spoke: "I can't believe this… that bastard turned me into Shiki!"

K took it that this would be a bad time to ask who Shiki was. Instead, he decided to supply a little information. "Your entry fee-the price you pay to enter the game and get another shot a life- was probably your appearance. You'll get it back when we win this."

"How long will that take?" she asked, tears begging to fill her eyes. Obviously she really disliked this "Shiki" person and the fact she looked like her was too much in her current state of trauma.

"Six days, sweetheart." He answered, managing to make the affectionate term sound like an insult despite his gentle tone (an interesting gift of his). "Six days of hell. Goodnight, and don't screw up tomorrow."

Any further question she had were cut off as they both slid to the pavement, unconscious.

END OF DAY 1

Authors' Notes:

SO sorry I didn't have this up sooner. Blame it on school. Ugh. Two massive essay-style assignments in a row. I want to thank Amulet Misty and Initia for their kin and useful reviews. Speaking of which, please review! I will find some creative, painful way to get back at flamers, probably involving a video camera, a shredder, small children, and twenty five gallons of espresso.


End file.
